Stencil printing process



Aug. 3,1926. 1,594,590 A. M. BATES I STENCIL PRINTING PROCESS Filed April 7, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 02 C v C C i no i mi 99 4 I 999 @mmm 6 Z3/ 23 I? I'D c i I i 6: J Jo DIED-[L (SE39 2 I 7 99m i A @Hn m i D CZ 2/ flwfifor 1502 72 6636. fideZme 7 Jffia zcs Aug. 3,1926. 1,594,590

A. M. BATES v STENCIL PRINTING PROCESS Filed April '7, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jizarneyw Patented Aug. 3, 1926.

uurrsn STATE$ PATENT orrics.

ADELMER MnBATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINbIS, ASSIGNOR 'TO BATES VALVE BAG COM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

STENCIL PRINTING expense.

Application filed April 7,1922. Serial in). 550,498.

My invention relates to a printing process tionally clear cut results with-absence of smearing or s reading of the characters. My more speci c objects will appear as the description proceeds.

1 illustrate my invention more or less diagrammatically 1n the accompanyingdrfawings, wherein Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a stencil-producing apparatus;

Figure 2 is an example of a stencil plate;

Figure 3 illustrates the mounting of the stencil plate, and i V Figure 4: is a diagrammatic view of one type of printing press with the stencil plate in position thereon. a

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the drawings;

A is any suitable stencil. machine, the details of which do not concern the present application, and B illustrates a stencil card or plate of metal, fibre or any suitable material in the course of preparation in the stencil machine. 0 is a finished stencil plate provided with the letteringC and perforated at its corners, as at C In Fig. 3 the plate is shown as suspended in front of any suitable platen D, which'is provided with knobs, posts or projections D at the side of the working surface, mounted, for example, on the arms 1) projecting therefrom. D are any suitable springs or yielding means secured at one end to the posts and at the other to the perforated corners of-the stencil.

E is any suitable printing press having the platen D mounted thereupon, with the posts and sprin as above described. The platen is provi' ed with a yielding or resilient surface E which may comprise a thin sheet of rubber or other suitable ma terial. Upon this surface is supported the material to be printed, which is shown in Fig. i as an intermittently moving strip F drawn from a roll F through the guiding element F across the aligning guides or rollers F, which serve to align it across the platen. F is a reciprocating material-gripping element, the details of which do not.

concern the present application, which serves to draw the strip F intermittently across the face of the platen and beneath the stcncih F is a roll of printed material, although it will be understood that the material thus printed need not be returned to a roll but may, if desired, be severed. The stencil plate G is supported above the strip F by the posts and yielding means alluded to. p G is .any suitable printing head pivoted to the press/as at G, and adapted to be rotated back and forth into and out of .contact with the platen. G is the ink-bearing surface, which consists preferably of a block of rubber, although other materials, such as plain metal or flat fibre board, might" be satisfactory. Gr is any suitable inking element and G is the usual inking table.

Since it is obvious that my process may be carried on with numerous other mechanical means and is notby any means limited to the means herein disclosed, it will be sufficient to say that the printing head is rotated into contact with the stencil and strip, which it clamps against theplaten, the rubber-surface being automatically inked at each reciprocation of the printing head. As-the printing head returns to withdrawn position, the reciprocating element F feeds thematerial forward for the next impression.

.It will be obvious that while I have shown the process as appliedto a press for printing from a continuous roll, it might be ap plied to any other suitable type of press, fonexamplc a pressadapted to operate on single sheets or cards.

My process will be apparent from the foregoing description, but especial attention should be given certain features.

The inked surface, which we may call adie'block, carrying its ink, presses against and picks up the yieldingly mounted stencil p ate on its forward stroke, forcing it down upon the work to be printed, and depositing its ink throu h the characters or apertures in the stencil plate. The-action of the soft pad or backing underneath the stencil plate embosses the work, forcing the cloth or paper up through the openings in the stencil plate to meet the down-pressed rubber, ink-covered, die block, which, being resilient, also penetrates the apertures of the stencil. The result is a beautifully clear cut line'of letters, since the squeeze of the Sill resilient pad or block fills out the entire cut-out area of the stencil letters and proline of parting between the stencil and the printed material. It will be noted, also, that the stencil is lifted from the printed surface while still held against the inked surface, which aids in parting the ink cleanly at the edges of the stencil perforations. Further, the stencil is made of or entirely surfaced with a material to which ink will not markedly adhere, and this vastly reduces the probability of any smearing or spreading of the characters.

The resilient pressure applied over the entire surface of the material opposte the stencil draws the material being printed Very snugly across the edges of the perforatlons in the stencil plate, resulting in sharper outlines of the printed characters, and also allows the use of a thicker and consequently more durable stencil plate than would be practicable if the material being printed were not thus pressed into the stencil perforations.

While my process is suitable for use in printing on many different materials, it is especially adapted to printing on cloth, crepe paper, and similar material that may be readily pressed into the stencil openings to an appreciable extent.

By my process, the ink-carryin surface leaves each character covered with a film of liquid ink. This film forms characters having a very desirable appearance, and

the tendency, which this liquid ink would otherwise have to run at the edges of the characters and produce a smeared effect is overcome by the special features of my process.

claim:

1. The process of printing upon flexible mat rial, which consists in positioning said mat-trial and a non-absorbent inked surface on opposite sides of stencil, and pressing said material against the stencil by means uniform resilient pressure which causes the material toenter the perforations in the stencil,

The process of printing upon flexible a terial, which consists in positioning said material and a non-absorbent inked surface on opposite sides o stencil and pressing said material and lubed surface into perforations in the stencil by means of uniform resilient pressure back of each.

3, The process of printing upon flexible material, which consists in positioning a stencil between a non-absorbent, ink-carrying surface and successive portions, of said material, making successive impressions upon said successive portions by pressing said portions against the stencil by uniform resilient pressure, and inking said surface between each successive impression.

4. The process of printing upon flexible material, which consists in positioning a stencil between a non-absorbent ink-carrying surface and successive portions of said material, making successive impressions upon said successive portions by pressing said surface and said portions against the stencil by uniform resilient'pressure back of each, and inking said surface between each successive impression.

5. The process of printing, which consists in positioning material to be printed and a non-absorbent'inked surface upon opposite sides of a stencil, pressing said material and surface against the stencil and thereby transferring ink through the stencil onto said material, and removing the inked surface from the material while still pressing the stencil against said surface so that the stencil will part from said material before it does from said surface.

6. The process of printing upon flexible material, which consists in positioning said material and an inked surface upon opposite sides of a stencil, pressing said material and inked surface against the stencil by uniform resilient pressure back of each, and separating the stencil from the material while continuing to hold the stencil in contact with the inked surface.

7. The process of printing upon flexiblematerial, which consists in pressing a stencil and said material together by means of uniform resilient pressure back of said material, passing liquid ink through the perforations of the stencil onto the material, and then removing the stencil from the material by a substantially right line movement.

8. The process of printin'g, which consists in positioning between an ink-carrying surface and successive portions of said material'a stencil having a surface not adherent to ink next to the ink-carrying surface, successively pressing the ink-carrying surface by uniform resilient pressure against said surface and said successive portions and thereby transferring ink through perforations in the stencil onto said portions, and after each impression parting the stencil and material while maintaining contact between the stencil and ink-carrying surface, then parting the stencil and ink-carrying surface, and then re-inking said surface.

9. The process of printing upon flexible material, which consists in positioning said material and an inked surface upon opposite sides of a stencil having an entire surface non-adherent to ink, pressing said material and inked surface into perforations in the stencil byvmeans of uniform resilient pressure back of each, and parting the stencil and material While maintaining contact between the stencil and inked surface; 7

10; The process of printing upon flexible material, which consists in positioning, between an ink-carrying surface and succes sive portions of said material, a stencil having its entire surface non-adherent to ink, pressing said ink-carrying surface and each successive portion of sand material 1nto perforatlons 1n the stencil by means of uniform resilient pressure, after each impression parting the stencil and material while maintaining contact between the stencil andink-carrying surface, then parting the web intermittently past a stencil and while the web is at rest pressing a nonabsorbent ink-carrying surface and the web against opposite sides of the stencil by resilient pressure back of each so that ink is transferred from said ink-carrying sur face through the stencil onto the web.

Signed at Chica 0, county of Cook and State of Illinois, thls 5th day of April, 1922.

ADELMER M. BATE S. 

